According to several news sources, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), will be named the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday. McCaul, who is the current chair of the subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Management and a member of the subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, will replace Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.).
House Speaker John Boehner's office says McCaul's chairmanship recommendation will be presented to the full House Republican Conference today for approval.
The position will give McCaul, who is outspoken on border security and immigration, control over the committee charged with overseeing the tasks of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
"Our nation faces a variety of homeland security challenges, including international and domestic terrorism, securing our borders and preventing cyber attacks," McCaul said in a statement. "It is the responsibility of our Committee to provide oversight to ensure the Department of Homeland Security is managed with efficiency and integrity so that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, that leadership is accountable and that DHS' rank and file are adequately supported to accomplish their important mission of protecting the homeland."
McCaul added that he looks forward to working with the Obama Administration, and "collaborating with my fellow committee chairs on issues of mutual jurisdiction, and partnering with our community and industry stakeholders who count on the federal government to provide oversight and implement sensible policy."
King has chaired the committee since 2005, the same year the U.S. House granted the committee permanent status. King was term-limited by internal rules. "I have worked with Rep. McCaul on the Committee for the past several years, and he has been a very effective leader of the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management and, previously, the Intelligence Subcommittee," King said in a statement. "I know that he is committed to securing our Homeland from terrorism and ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security acts in an effective and responsible manner. I wish Congressman McCaul the best and look forward to working with him going forward."
Prior to being elected to Congress, McCaul served as Chief of Counter-Terrorism in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, and as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section.
